(You Need Not) To Be Afraid
by Kibo Oto
Summary: Sirius was a wound up mess of fear and feelings, even if he didn't show it. Pre-slash/Slash


_Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments)_

_Assignment #5; Elemental Magic: Introduction to the Four Elements; Task #1:Water_

**Word Count: **1718

**Warnings: **Pre-slash/Slash

* * *

"Remus." One poke.

"R-emus," a voice drew out. Two pokes.

"Remu-"

"What!" Remus snapped sleepily, groggy from waking up.

"Come on, Remus. Get up!" Remus heard Sirius whine.

"Pads," Remus wiped his eyes with his hands, checking the time on his wrist watch, "it's 2 in the bloody morning! What do you want?" Remus nearly growled out the last part. Sirius knew he would be more irritable and that he had to conserve energy with the full moon being only two days away.

"I couldn't sleep." Remus sat up in bed, groaning sightly as he did. He looked over to Sirius and inspected his face closely. Sirius' eyes were bloodshot, and deep bags that weren't there a few hours ago lined the bottom of his eyes.

"So, I had this idea, and went to wake you up. Now that you're awake, we can go," Sirius whispered, careful not to wake the others up.

"Pads, again, it's 2 in the morning. What could you possibly wan to do?" Remus asked, yawning only a second later.

"That's a surprise." Sirius tsk-ed at Remus as if he should've already known. "What I can tell you is that it'll require us to sneak out."

"Pads, no. We have a test tomorrow in DADA, and Moony can smell the dampness in the air. It's going to rain, Pads, so whatever you're planning to do will be ruined by the rain."

"Come on, Remus. We'll be back before the rain hits and you already know the material on the unit in DADA, so it's guaranteed that you'll pass! Please, Remus!" Sirius pleaded, doing his best to convince Remus.

Remus sighed, knowing he wouldn't win this argument. Whenever Sirius got pent up, or something was bothering him, he couldn't be placated or reasoned with. Remus didn't know what was bothering Sirius, but he knew it couldn't be good from the state he was in. It was better to go along with his plans and supervise, rather than Sirius being by himself and getting into trouble. Usually, when Sirius got like this, he went to Remus instead of the others. Remus didn't know why, but didn't question it.

Remus groaned again, his bones aching. He did a full-body stretch, hoping to relieve some of the pain. He could feel Sirius staring at him from where he was sitting on the floor next to his bedside. He paid it no mind though, and slid out of bed. Remus was clad in only a pair of sweatpants, his chest bare. The scars littering his chest glinted as he stood, the moonlight making the scars visible.

Remus went to the chest at the foot of his bed and pulled out one of his many sweaters. He didn't bother changing out of his sweatpants, seeing as he wouldn't be gone that long. Remus also took out of his robes and fastened it around his body, hoping it would be enough to shield him from the cold chill of the November night.

When Remus turned around, Sirius was already dressed and sitting on his own bed, anxiously tapping his index and middle finger against his thigh. Remus walked over to him and said, "You ready to go, Pads?"

Sirius nodded. He went to the foot of James' bed and knelt down, rummaging through the trunk until he found the invisibility cloak at the bottom, neatly folded. He stood, and both he and Remus got under it, not a word being shared between the two.

Both Remus and Sirius had grew a lot over the summer, and had to crowd together to make sure they weren't spotted. Remus wished they had the map with them right now, but they hadn't managed to rescue the map from Filch's office yet.

Remus wrapped his arm around Sirius' waist, tugging him closer. Suddenly, Remus stopped, pulling Sirius to a stop as well. Sirius stood still, trusting Remus' senses to not lead them astray.

After a few seconds, Mrs. Norris appeared around the corner and walked past them. She stopped for a second, looking around suspiciously in the general area where Remus and Sirius were, before continuing her walk. Sirius and Remus stood very still against one another, watching as Mrs. Norris finally turned the corner.

Sirius let out an inaudible sigh of relief before he and Remus continued walking. The pair encountered no more people during their walk, but Remus could swear that at one point he heard Filch muttering to himself only a few corridors over.

They finally made it outside the school, and Sirius had dragged Remus a fair distance away from the school. Remus took the invisibility cloak off both him and Sirius and folded it, placing it in his robe pocket. Remus could see Hagrid's hut in the distance, the dwelling illuminated by the moonlight.

Sirius stopped suddenly and plopped down on the dewy grass, pulling Remus down with him. Sirius laid back, putting one arm under his head and the other splayed across his stomach, his fingers tapping an erratic beat on his stomach.

Remus observed him for a second before laying back himself. He gazed up at the sky, the once clear sky now filling up with big, darkening clouds. Remus could once again warn Sirius of the upcoming downpour, but decided against it after looking at him. Sirius seemed more at peace and his fingers lay still upon his stomach. He showed no signs of getting up any time soon.

"Wanna tell me what's got you so wound up?" Remus asked, still eyeing the darkening clouds.

"Nothing." Remus turned face him. "Nothing important. Not anymore, at least."

Remus didn't push further. Sometime's pushing the issue would do more damage than help, no matter his intentions. Remus subconsciously matched his breathing to Sirius, relaxing into the bumpy grass underneath him. Then, the first drop of rain hit Remus' face.

Remus released a long-suffering sigh before speaking. "Pads, let's go back inside now. It's not going to be long before we have raining pouring down on us."

Remus watched out of the corner of his eye as Sirius stood up. What surprised him was the smile stretching from ear-to-ear on his face. Suddenly, there was a hand from Sirius in his face. Remus grabbed the calloused hand, feeling himself being lifted up and pulled close to Sirius' own body.

"Pads?" Remus questioned as Sirius wrapped his around Remus' waist, tugging him even closer.

Sirius grinned at him, his smile growing even bigger as he said, "Remus, let's dance!"

"Pads, it's raining," Remus deadpanned. The downpour of rain was getting heavier and Remus was starting to feel weighed down by his wet robes.

"Exactly! Dancing in the rain with the person I like is on my bucket list."

Remus reared back, looking at Sirius with wide eyes. "The person you like?" Remus asked.

"Yeah. I've been thinking awhile and I finally came to accept that I like you. That I like you beyond simply a friend, and no matter how much I try to ignore it, it won't go away," Sirius said, his words blunt, leaving no room for any misunderstandings.

"I-" Remus choked out, suddenly feeling as if he had lost his balance. "How could you possibly like me, Sirius! I'm a werewolf and a male!" Remus was starting to freak out, his sharp intakes of breath getting more infrequent.

Sirius grabbed onto Remus' waist, steadying him. "Remus, I don't care that you're a werewolf. You know that. I'm not a bigot." The hurt was clear in Sirius' voice, thinking that Remus thought he was a bigot, even after all this time.

"And I also don't care that you're male! In fact, that's part of why I like you so much!"

"But, you're always flirting with girls and have never said anything about liking guys," Remus said, trying to squash down the hope he was beginning to feel.

"That's because I was scared! Scared that everyone was going to hate me and that you and James and Peter would all stop being friends with me! Besides, the only guy I ever wanted to flirt with and date is you, Remus." Sirius cupped Remus' face in his hands, trying to convey his feelings.

The rain was pouring heavily now, soaking both Sirius and Remus. Sirius tugged Remus back in his arms and just hugged him. Remus slowly brought his arm up and eventually hugged Sirius back.

"I'm sorry that you felt scared. I'm sorry that you didn't feel safe enough to tell us- to tell me. But you should know that we would never stop being friends with you or abandon you! I would never hate you, Sirius. I couldn't, even if I tried," Remus muttered fiercely into the crook of Sirius' neck. They were swaying slightly in the hug, and the rain was mixing in with Sirius' tears.

Sirius let out a choked sob, thankful for his friends and thankful for Remus. He lifted his face, as did Remus, and they stared at one another. Remus took a deep breath, trying to muster up the courage his house was so idolized for, and kissed Sirius, trying to show that, yes, he also reciprocated Sirius' feelings.

Sirius responded almost immediately, pulling Remus closer to deepen the kiss. The kiss was soft, if not wet from all the rain. It was only a press of the lips, but it meant so much more to the two of them. It was the beginning of something new, of a relationship that the two had only ever hoped for.

Suffice to say, the two of them didn't get back to their dorm until a while later, soaking wet to boot. They both missed the DADA test from sleeping in and had to make it up, but neither of them regretted it one bit.


End file.
